The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

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The Chinese middle class is expanding rapidly, reaching 474 million this year, according to my latest calculation.

Many people may challenge this number. But it’s just arithmetic. In a recent report “Consuming China,” McKinsey indicates that 83 % of households in China’s mega cities (cities with population of over 10 million: Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Tianjin) and 66 % in the rest of the cities are middle class families.

The Chinese Middle Class Approaching Half a Billion

By the end of 2011, China’s urban population reached 691 million. Do the simple math, and you will get the same number I got: the population of the Chinese middle class was 474 million, with 88 million living in mega cities, and 386 million in smaller cities.

This means the Chinese middle class accounts for 68 percent ofundefined urban population, which is believable to me. Assuming two percent are super rich, still about 30 percent of the people in urban areas are poor.

Some would argue that there are different criteria to measure the size of the Chinese middle class. A simple and important rule of thumb, as stated in my book The Chinese Dream, is that of a household with a third of its income for discretionary spending. These people have passed the threshold of survival and have disposable income to spend on leisure items. As I travel around China, it's very clear to me that the majority of people in urban areas have reached this stage.

Chinese Consumers Love “Made in USA” Products

The rising Chinese middle class is the biggest story of our time. However, many US companies are missing the opportunity. US exports to China account for only 6 percent of China’s total imports. The major categories of US exports to are in industrial sectors such as power generation equipment, aircraft, and medical equipment.